It's Groundhog Day: Here are 5 things to know

Punxsutawney Phil makes annual forecast on Groundhog Day

Jeff Swensen / Getty Images

Groundhog handler John Griffiths holds Punxsutawney Phil after he saw his shadow predicting six more weeks of winter during the 128th annual Groundhog Day festivities Sunday in Punxsutawney, Pa. Groundhog Day is a popular tradition in the United States and Canada. A smaller-than-usual crowd this year of less than 25,000 people spent a night of revelry awaiting the sunrise and the groundhog's exit from his winter den.

Groundhog handler John Griffiths holds Punxsutawney Phil after he saw his shadow predicting six more weeks of winter during the 128th annual Groundhog Day festivities Sunday in Punxsutawney, Pa. Groundhog Day is a popular tradition in the United States and Canada. A smaller-than-usual crowd this year of less than 25,000 people spent a night of revelry awaiting the sunrise and the groundhog's exit from his winter den. (Jeff Swensen / Getty Images)

Saba Hamedy

The furry rodent Punxsutawney Phil emerged from his burrow in Pennsylvania early Sunday morning and saw his shadow, forecasting six more weeks of winter.

Phil's forecast is a symbolic part of an annual celebration, which takes place in Punxsutawney, Pa., about 65 miles northeast of Pittsburgh.

Here are five things to know about Groundhog Day:

The Punxsutawney celebration began with the Germans, Pennsylvania's earliest settlers, in 1887. According to the Groundhog Day official website, the Germans celebrate Candlemas Day: If a hibernating animal casts a shadow on Feb. 2, winter will last longer, but if no shadow is seen, spring will come early. "The settlers found that groundhogs were plentiful and were the most intelligent and sensible animal to carry on the legend of Candlemas Day," the website states.

The event is planned by the Groundhog Club's Inner Circle, a group of local dignitaries. They plan the day's events and, more important, they feed and care for Phil. As part of the tradition, the gentlemen wear top hats and suits on Feb. 2. There are 16 members of the circle, which includes Phil.

This year's prediction, which was read aloud by Groundhog Club Inner Circle President Bill Deeley, said: "A Super Bowl winner I will not predict, but my weather forecast you cannot contradict. That's not a football lying beside me, it's my shadow you see. So, six more weeks of winter it shall be!" Phil's accuracy rate is just 39%, but who's counting?

The movie "Groundhog Day" starring Bill Murray was released in 1993, heightening the day's popularity. Murray plays a Pittsburgh weatherman who finds himself living Groundhog Day over and over again until he improves his character enough to continue with life. A famous scene depicts Murray asleep in his bed as the Sonny & Cher song "I Got You Babe" plays before his alarm wakes him up at 6 a.m. "Get up and check that hog!" the radio announcer says.

A woodchuck rescuer in upstate New York lives every day like Groundhog Day. Times Staff Writer Tina Susman interviewed Bob Will, of Dunkirk, N.Y., in January 2012. "I've helped thousands and thousands of woodchucks," he said, but groundhogs touch him the most. "You'd see one walking down the road with a broken leg and other people would say, 'Oh, it's just a groundhog.' Just a groundhog?! It's one of God's creatures."